


Heaven's Gate

by enfoire



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cults, ill add more later, later on, mentions of cult leaders, mild swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 09:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13455282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enfoire/pseuds/enfoire
Summary: "Take our life from us. We laid it down. We got tired. We didn't commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world."Daniel's life takes off after spending the summer at a filthy camp.





	Heaven's Gate

**Author's Note:**

> The summary sucks but basically this is about Daniel growing up, and how his home life influenced him to become who he was. Of course, Camp Campbell had it's role in his journey as well.   
> Hope you all enjoy the Cult references i threw in there because w o o b o y!

Agnes Talbot was 18 when she found herself to be pregnant.

She had slipped up with a boy who had sweet talked her into bed, his ramblings about serving in the Army had melted her heart, and she gave into him.

A couple months after they began seeing each other, Agnes had discovered that she was carrying his child. At first, she had no worries. The couple would marry and raise the child, living a nuclear-style life.

Her lover thought otherwise.

He told Agnes that he was going back into the Army, but when he returned he would help her with the child. Agnes suspected nothing, and months later, she would find herself without a husband.

Her family was outraged at the situation that their daughter had gotten herself into. They had filled her head with the bible, only for her to go out and _sin_ , and come back with a bastard baby growing in her belly.

Her parents forced her to leave home, giving her enough to start her out with an apartment. They wouldn’t let their grandchild go without a home, but they refused to acknowledge their daughter after the sins that she had committed.

“If you want to be an adult, you can start living an adult life.”

Agnes wouldn’t hear from them again.

And at 19, she would give birth to the child.

Daniel Talbot was born on November 18th, 1994. It was a Landmark day for Agnes, and she told her son for years that it was “a sign.”

She named him after a biblical figure who had been punished for his faith, but he overcame it by trusting in God. Agnes, after all, was trusting in the Lord, and trying to overcome the difficulty of being a single mother. She wanted to raise him right, and make sure that he prospered in the Lord.

He was raised up with the scripture memorized, and his mother’s own teachings and interpretations of the holy text. She drew her inspirations from Marshall Applewhite, and Jim Jones’ ways of life, trying to give her son a better outlook on life than what he would gain through the education system.

Intense teachings and lessons caused Daniel to be reserved at school, too scared to touch or interact with the other kids. Their filthy language and harsh ways of playing scared the blonde. What would his mother think if she knew what kind of friends he had?

He’d earn another night in the Repentance Room if she knew he interacted with them.

Elementary school would prove to be a less than thrilling experience for Daniel, as he spent his days with his back pressed against the brick wall at recess. He kept his distance, far enough for safety, but close enough to hear his classmates. He heard the chittering and the gossip. The young boy longed for the day he join in on the conversations. He wanted to trade Pokémon cards with them, he wanted to go play ball after school with them. He longed for _someone_ other than his mother and other church members to talk to him.

He was so lonely.

Daniel could remember his mother running her fingers softly through his short blonde hair, comforting him when he cried about his loneliness.

“Daniel,” She would start. “Danny boy, I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Some words from someone much, much wiser than you and I. Are you listening?” He would rub the tears from his eyes with the heels of his hands so that he could look at her properly. The 7-year-old sniffled and nodded silently. She gave him a warm smile. “You don’t need them, baby. Really, all you need is me and the lord.” She used her free hand to wipe away a stray tear from his cheek. “As a very wise man once said: _‘I'm going to tell you, Daniel, without me, life has no meaning. I'm the best thing you'll ever have.’_ ”

Daniel felt his stomach twist into something strange, he felt very sick at her words. It gave him no comfort, but he knew how easily she would snap if he didn’t heed her advice.

He couldn’t spend another night in that dark room again.

“Think about those words the next time you feel lonely. Your Father and I will always be here for you, do you understand that?” Daniel swallowed the lump in his throat, giving her a short nod.

“Yes, mama. I understand.”

“That’s my boy, always keeping his purity and heeding the Lord. I’m so proud of you.” She kissed his cheek, getting up and leaving the boy behind with his thoughts.

_‘Purity’_

Daniel could recite the definition that his mother had spent years pounding into his head.

_“It means to be free from spiritual or moral defilement. To always keep your innocence and chastity intact. Don’t let this filthy world take you with it. Don’t let them contaminate you.”_

His mother had placed a bible in front of him before he could even properly read.

“To be one with the Lord is to be pure, Daniel. Don’t ever forget who you are, or where you came from.”

She had told him that he had no physical father, because God had gifted her with him.

“You were my reward for remaining pure. You’re not like the other filthy children. You were born from purity itself.” She spat the words out at him, venom in her icy blue eyes every time he mentioned a father figure. Daniel learned to shut up about it. In a way, he felt happy that he was a gift from God. Jesus did a lot of important things with his time on earth, and Daniel got it in his head that he needed to do the same. His mother applauded him when he told her that he was ready to follow god’s will, and help the citizens of earth towards ascension.

“They’re not ready yet, Danny boy. But you’ll know when that time comes. You’ll be ready then. And when you are, you’ll be better than _he_ ever was.”

Daniel never knew who the “he” was, his mother only referred to him as _“Someone who didn’t know how to properly ascend.”_

-

The house always smelled like cleaning products, and in the morning, coffee with hazelnut creamer. He hated the scent. It wasn’t naturally “pure”, it was the type she had made by scrubbing away the dirt. It was false.

And Daniel despised it. To him, purity was the smell of the newborn baby that belonged to the couple who sat behind them in church. It smelled like the laundry when it was fresh out the dryer, having been cleansed in the wash. It was the feeling he got when he prayed at the altar, the lack of desire to sneak out of his home along with the neighborhood boys.

The church taught him about a higher version of purity, one that could only be achieved by ascending. When he would ascend, he would finally be truly cleansed.

Of course, this meant death.

How could he ever hope to be pure if he was stuck in an earthly body? It held his soul back, it squashed his true potential.

As intimidating as death should have been, the young blonde was more than ready to learn how he could assist other onto the road for ascension. After all, as the son of God, it was his calling.

-

Things became a little rocky for the eleven-year-old when his mother announced that she was sending him to a camp for the summer. The reason being that she, along with other adult members, were going on a holy mission. The children weren’t old enough to come along quite yet. Since there was no extended family to look after the young blonde for the summer, his mother packed his things, and pressed a bus ticket into his palm.

This aggravated Daniel. He’d rather spend his summer indoors, away from the world. Daniel had perfected the art of holing himself up in his room for hours on end, only interested in reading through the books that sat on the shelf in the living room.

He tried to protest, but his mother was firm in her decision.

“No arguing, or talking your way out of this one. This trip is special for me and the other members, one day when you’re older, you’ll come along and understand the importance of it.”

This didn’t stop him from trying, of course. He made his disapproval known up until she dropped him off at the bus stop. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving behind a small red mark from her lipstick.

“I’ll see you when you get home. Be safe, and heed your counselors. You’ll have lots of activities to choose from, so make the most out of your trip. I love you, Daniel.”

He set his jaw. “I love you too.”

Daniel watched her car drive off, until it was a mere dot in his vision. He looked down at his luggage, grabbing the large brown suitcase by the handle and dragging it over to a bench. There he waited for the bus that was going to haul him off to what was about to be the worst summer of his life.

His blue eyes shot up when he heard the squeaking of the brakes. His bus had arrived.

With no smart remarks to make, he begrudgingly picked up his suitcase, and bee lined for the back of the bus. In times like these, he wished his mother would allow him to own a MP3 player. The ride was going to be long, and he only had his bible to keep him company for the ride.

It didn’t take him long to drift off, his head resting against the window of the bus.

-

Daniel was woken up by the bus driver.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Come on son, your ride is waiting.”

“My ride..?” Daniel turned to look out the window. Woods surrounded them for miles, and in a clearing, a yellow bus waited. It looked like it was ready to break down at any moment. The driver didn’t look much better, he had a hook in the place of his left hand. His silver hair stuck out around his head, reminding Daniel of someone who had been struck by lightning.

“Yep. That bus will take you right to camp. No way am I taking my baby into that wooded mess...” He turned, mumbling more to himself about the condition of his bus, and how his boss would _‘Have his ass.’_ If the bus got as much as a scratch on it.

Daniel dragged his suitcase behind him as he exited the bus, which seemed luxurious in comparison to the one he stood in front of now.

“Ya gonna get in or are ya gonna sit there all day?” The silver hair man grumbled at him, the blonde only barely understanding him.

He didn’t reply, only stepped into the yellow death-trap and took a seat. The seat were heavily worn, springs popping out of some of them. He sat close to the window, watching as the woods got thicker and thicker by the minute.  Soon enough, the thick woods broke away as a camp came into view. A tall flag pole stood above the camp, the flag reading _‘Campe Diem’._ Daniel squinted to read it, unsure of what it meant. The camp itself seemed a pretty good size, several tents were put up for the campers, and a mess hall sat in the center.

Distracted by the sight of the camp, Daniel face-planted with the seat in front of him when the bus lurched to a stop. He bit his tongue to hinder a curse from leaving his lips. The blonde stood up, shooting the driver a dirty look as he walked off the bus.

Immediately, a woman greeted Daniel.

“Hi! You must be our new camper! I’m going to be one of your counselors this summer, my name’s Darla.”

All Daniel could do was nod. His throat felt tight. After a moment, he stuck his hand out to her. “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Daniel.”  

Her smile got wider, and she picked up the suitcase beside him. “Let’s get you settled in, okay? After, Gregg and I can show you around and introduce you!” Her free hand took his, and Daniel felt his stomach flip. No one but his mother had ever touched him like that before. His thumb rubbed her palm, she felt so much warmer than his mother.

Darla led him to a tent, opening the flap for him. “I think you’re going to love your tent mate! He’s really cheered up this summer…” She sat his suitcase down on the free bed. “You can unpack later, for now we-“

“Hey Darla! Who’s that?”

Daniel turned to look at the boy now standing in the tent with them. He had brown hair and bright eyes.

“What a coincidence! Davey, this is Daniel. You two are going to be tent mates this summer.”

The brunette smiled at him, quickly sticking his arm out to the blonde. “Hey! My name’s David, but people call me Davey sometimes!” Daniel had never seen someone wear such a huge smile before.

“David...” Daniel muttered his name, it was a biblical one. ‘ _Like David and Goliath…’_ He thought to himself.

Daniel took the boy’s hand, giving it a shake. It felt like something clicked inside of him.

“Gosh we’re gonna have so much fun this summer! I can’t wait to show you around!”

He was an endless ball of enthusiasm and energy. His smile was wide, and he seemed to click well with the counselor. Plus, he had a biblical name. Daniel bit his lip, sending an apology to his mother. He liked this kid already. He wanted him to ascend with them.

“Yeah.” Daniel replied, a soft smirk gracing his face. “We sure are.”

Maybe this summer wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, point out grammar errors and anything else that I may need to correct!  
> Thanks for reading, I'll update as soon as I can.


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